To understand the potential for the new nanotechnology initiative at SUNYIT in Marcy, take a look at how such research has transformed the University at Albany and the Capital District’s economy.

“In the dozen years since the Albany college began its nanotechnology operations, 2,500 jobs have been created at the school alone, and the ripple effect has pumped new life into the Capital region,” Albany economic development officials said.

“The revitalization of downtown Schenectady, Albany and Troy is driven by the economic activity that has resulted,” said F. Michael Tucker, President and CEO of the Center for Economic Growth, an Albany-based regional economic development organization.

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Despite the tough national economy, four new high-end restaurants have opened in the Albany area in the past two years, he said.

That’s why state and local leaders have such high hopes for the new Computer Chip Commercialization Center at SUNYIT, which will be a partner with the University at Albany’s College of Nanoscale Science and Engineering and with major computer companies including IBM, Intel and the SEMATECH consortium.

Obviously, these kind of initiatives take a lot of informed guess work, but other cities can’t expect to just reproduce these results. Sometimes, early-to-market approaches allow one to get a foot in the door, but ultimately it depends on a lot of things, particularly leveraging a unique skills and knowledge assets, i.e., you can do something of value better than anyone else. Hopefully that is what SUNYIT is doing